Delhi: With almost no professional hangman left in the country, even Law Minister Veerappa Moily would have been wondering how he would fulfill his promise of ensuring Mumbai 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab's execution within a year.
Jitendra Singh, a Home Guard attached to the Old Delhi Police Station, is a self-proclaimed "trained" hangman. The 29-year-old, who claims that he learnt the art from his
Guruji, is one of the thousands of wannabes who want to implement the capital punishment awarded to Kasab.
"I can't reveal the name of my
Guruji," he said when MiD DAY asked him about where he learned the rope trick.
And it is not by chance that Singh has been initiated into learning tricks of the profession to execute convicts. "I always wanted to be a hangman. After picking up the tricks of the trade from my
guruji, I want to start with Kasab."
To make his "burning desire" a reality, Singh has written to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Tejender Khanna to recruit him as a hangman.
"I love this job. I will hang each and every terrorist who has been awarded death sentence. But my first target will be Ajmal Amir Kasab. I don't know why they are not recruiting me. I have spoken to the Director General (Prisons) of Tihar Jail but he told me that were no vacancies," the Home Guard said.
To support his earnest desire to become a hangman, Singh showed a letter that he wrote to the President in 2004 for a post as hangman with the Government of India.
"I am not sure whether the letter reached the President or not but I have got no response. Then I tried to contact DG (Prisons) but even he refused," he said.
However, the death penalty to Kasab and the virtual absence of a qualified hangman in the country has prompted Singh to renew his quest for a job in the profession that he loves.
Singh's peers described him as a "dedicated man". "He lives alone in his barrack at the police station and remains most of the time on duty," a colleague said, requesting anonymity.
The Home Guard is of the view that more than executing the punishment awarded to the Pakistani terrorist, "hanging Qasab would send out a strong message to those having evil designs on India that the country has the courage and conviction to deal with terror with an iron hand."
"I appeal to the honourable Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to consider my application in the nation's interest," he added.
When MiD DAY pointed out that hangmen are paid "peanuts", Singh said, "It is not about money or posting. I want to do it because I feel that it is the best job in the world."
When asked how he keeps himself in practice, Singh said that he 'hangs' dummies regularly at his brother's
akhara in west Delhi.